Happily Ever After: Shinigami Style
by Kadira
Summary: IchigoRukiaRenji: Dying really hadn't been a part of Ichigo's agenda.


**Disclaimer:** The characters are the property of Kubo Tite. No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being made.  
**Summary:** Dying really hadn't been a part of Ichigo's agenda.  
**Spoilers:** it's a future fic, but everything that happened up to now in the manga is probably mentioned in passing.

**Happily Ever After**** (Shinigami Style)**  
by Kadira (October 2007)

**I.**

Looking back at it, Ichigo should have known that something was askew, at least when the Hollow had just rushed past him instead of attacking him. Not only had it completely ignored Ichigo and Zangetsu, but it had just kicked Ichigo away when he had tried to engage it in fight, once halfway across the city, as if he were nothing more than a fly on the wall.

Of course, being his usual bright self, Ichigo had first realized that something must be wrong when he had felt the strange sensation of being _disconnected_. He had temporarily forgotten about it when the Hollow had shown up again and he had killed it with one hit, only slightly confused by its triumphant laugh before it had vanished.

The feeling had returned much stronger, when he had turned the corner and had found his body, on the pavement, where he had left it. Only, when he had got out of it, there hadn't been a puddle of blood around him and he was pretty sure that his head hadn't looked that deformed either.

When he had tried to return to it -- there was no changing the most basic things, and getting back into his own body was one of them, shinigami or not - and had discovered that he couldn't, he had realized that he was screwed. Not just a little bit - he could have handled that, it was the soundtrack of his life after all - but _really_ screwed.

It couldn't be, could it? He couldn't be dead. He had always thought that dying would hurt more. Or maybe that only applied when you were in your body at the time...

As if in a trance he had done the only thing he could think about - he had grabbed his body and had headed home before someone could stumble over them.

And this was where he was now. Not that the change of location had changed anything else.

At a loss, Ichigo looked down at himself. He was still in his Shinigami uniform and there was no chain of fate connected to his chest. Then again, Urahara had cut it long ago already. But what did it mean for him?

"Ichiiigooooo!" He turned around just in time to see the plush lion flying towards him. With his hand, he redirected it, so that Kon crashed into the wall. At least his reflexes didn't seem to have suffered, even if that feeling of disconnection was still there.

"Ow! That's not fair. I just wanted to see you, but you just—" Kon stopped as his gaze fell onto the bed.

On Ichigo.

Well, his body anyway.

"What happened, Ichigo?" Kon asked then, voice wavering as he carefully moved closer to the bed, then backed away again. "You... your body...Don't tell me that you got yourself killed."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Idiot. I would hardly be here if that was the case, would I? It's just... my body, I think. Something that wouldn't have happened, if _you_ hadn't decided to slip out instead of taking over my body!"

Strangely enough, despite his words, Ichigo wasn't angry. Or even sad. He merely felt a bit at a loss. What was he supposed to do now? He could hardly call an ambulance. There was nothing a doctor could do anymore. That was about the only thing he was sure about. Should he give himself a soul burial? Despite the missing chain of fate? Could he even do that for himself? No, he didn't think so. And he didn't really feel like doing it anyway. That was not how he had envisioned his next visit to Soul Society.

Before he could decide on a course of action, Kon said, "I will go and ask Nee-san. She'll know what to do."

"Kon, no!" Before Ichigo could stop him, Kon had jumped past him and was out of the window, most likely on his way to Urahara or Inoue, or wherever Rukia was at the moment.

With a sigh, Ichigo leaned against the wall, covering his eyes with his hand. He would never hear the end of it once Rukia or Renji found out about this. Maybe he should just be grateful that they hadn't been there to watch his defeat (which wasn't even one. He had killed that son of a bitch after all, just a bit too late).

**II. **

While Ichigo sat on his desk – keeping a healthy distance from his body, because the situation was just too weird, even for him – he found himself drifting off into memories as he waited for Kon to return with Rukia.

_Rukia_.

He couldn't quite ignore the knot in his stomach at the thought of her, then just followed his memories back to the very beginning, allowed the combined force of the images and emotions to carry him along.

He remembered Rukia's astonishment that Ichigo could see her, remembered her power entering him, coursing through him and providing him with the means he needed to protect the ones he loved (and if he closed his eyes he thought that he could feel it even now, no matter that it had been taken away from him, had been replaced with his own power long ago already). He still remembered the joy and the fear he had felt when they had invaded the white hell that was Hueco Mundo to rescue Inoue. The former when Rukia and Renji had shown up to help him, their statement that they were a team and that he was a fool to think otherwise, the latter when he had felt Rukia's energy fading, the anguish that had taken hold of him at the thought that she could be dead.

He also remembered Renji and their first meeting. Renji's Zabimaru cutting him, making him bleed and hurt, and Ichigo almost killing him then (not that Renji would ever admit it, Ichigo thought with a small grin), and their last serious fight in Soul Society, the one that had changed everything between them, how they had worked together in the end to save Rukia.

He remembered the time the three of them had spent together, here and in Soul Society, the joy of just being _together_, their training, the kicks, the touches and the kisses. Even now Ichigo could feel the same as then, could marvel at the rawness of his feelings for them, the intensity of their bond. He remembered how the two of them always knew exactly just what Ichigo needed when and just were there for him (even before their relationship had changed already) and how fine-tuned the three of them had become to each other's needs and desires so very soon.

It's not that it had been planned. If anything at all, it had been an accident, or as much of an accident as it can be when you are suddenly kissing your friends.

Both of them to be exact.

At the same time.

In the middle of a battle against the Arrancar. In Aizen's world nevertheless. And in front of Ishida and Chad and Orihime. They hadn't cared much about their audience, _couldn't_ in the heat of these overwhelming emotions that urged them on, and which they would never be able to fit into words or to explain to anyone.

It had been on the spur of the moment, born out of unimaginable relief once they had found each other again and discovered that they all were still alive after all. The rest had just developed after that first kiss. They hadn't questioned it, had accepted it as something that just _was_, as an addition to what they had already. Maybe the next logical step in their relationship.

However, sometimes Ichigo thinks that both Rukia and Renji, had visited him a tad too often once they had returned, almost as if they wanted to make sure that he wouldn't have second thoughts. Not that it had been necessary (not then and not now. _Never_), because it had felt like something that just should be, almost right from the beginning. If anything at all, it had been a part of Ichigo's life that had made the most sense, especially in the middle of the preparation for the war and him discovering his father's true nature.

Yet, as he let his eyes wander over his broken body and waited, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen now, if that between them would change now thanks to his own carelessness.

He shook his head, tried to forget about this line of thoughts, forced himself to remember other things, like that they had never feared him, not even after they had found out about the Hollow. Despite Hirako's prediction, they were still at his side, just as his other friends. In fact, Renji even had come up with some (rather undignified) pet names for Ichigo's Hollow, which drove both Ichigo and his Hollow up the wall.

In the end, it all had worked out. They had won against the Arrancar and had all survived, unlike far too many others, who hadn't been so lucky. They carried their share of battle scars, like the one across Ichigo's chest, which was courtesy of Ulquiorra, but they had survived and that more or less intact. Until now, at least.

Ichigo had to resist the strong urge to hit the wall behind him.

How could he have been so stupid?

**III.**

"So," Ichigo said, carefully, once Rukia's torrent of insults ('idiot' being the most friendly one) had finally stopped. It had started as soon as she had gotten over her first shock and had lasted quite a long time. Even after all those years they had known each other now, it never ceased to amaze Ichigo how creative she could be in her abuse and how she could yell for so long without ever stopping once.

"_So_? What do you mean _so_?" Rukia jumped up from her kneeling position beside the bed and stood in front of him, glaring. Usually, Ichigo loved that expression and wouldn't have hesitated to show her just how much, but the situation was a bit too bizarre to do anything like that.

Of all the things he had ever imagined, dying hadn't been one of them. Certainly not this way and so soon, so he felt a bit out of his depth.

"There is no _'so'_, you idiot! You are dead. Well, your body at least is dead. There's nothing anymore. You can't return to it. Nothing binds you anymore to it. Or to this life. You effectively got yourself killed."

"But I didn't—"

"Of course you did! This doesn't look as if you just fell over dead!"

"It's not my fault!" Ichigo tried to defend himself, voice rising ever so slightly. He had hardly asked for this mess!

"No? What happened then?" Rukia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Once Ichigo was finished telling her everything - on the roof, because Ichigo didn't feel too comfortable around his dead self - Rukia murmured, "I knew I should have insisted that you use Chappy. That damn Kon! If he had done once as he's supposed to, this wouldn't have happened. "

"Well, it can't be changed. Believe me, I would rather have avoided that as well. But what is going to happen now?" he asked, voice low. While he still didn't feel overly sad, Ichigo had discovered that it could put quite a damper on one's mood to discover that one just got killed. "Are you going to give me... well, a soul burial? Am I going to stay here?"

Rukia shook her head. "I don't think that a soul burial is possible. You are not a spirit," she said and Ichigo had to admit that he was rather relieved to hear that. He didn't really fancy ending up as a soul in one of the outer districts of Rukongai, no matter how much Soul Society had tried to improve the conditions there during the last years. "Your case is unique. We never had a human just turning shinigami. Your chain of fate has been severed by Urahara, so you already skipped to the end quite some time ago."

"I figured that much," Ichigo said.

"Does Captain Kuros—your father know what happened? Or any of the others?"

Ichigo shook his head. And as far as he was concerned, he would be much better off, if his father wouldn't find out about it for a very long time to come. Not that it would take long. Not anymore since his old man had returned to Soul Society, which had happened after Karen and Yuzu had left home and it had been obvious that they were well off and happy and just didn't need their father anymore around the whole time (much to his chagrin).

In fact, they both had taken it rather well that not only their big brother, but also their father had turned out to be shinigami. The twins had taken their father's confession even better than Ichigo, who had been a bit peeved that his father hadn't said anything before. He was still convinced that a bit more honesty in that regard wouldn't have hurt. At the very least, Ichigo wouldn't have needed to pretend quite so hard then that he was still just himself.

But his father's return to Soul Society didn't mean that he would be pleased if he heard about his son's current predicament. And he would hear about it. Probably sooner than later. Ichigo had no doubt about that.

As for Orihime, Ishida, Chad and his other friends...

"I need to contact Soul Society," Rukia said, already getting to her feet. "I need to ask what we should do now."

"Hey, Rukia?"

Rukia who was already playing with her phone, looked up. "What?"

"Is Renji here as well?"

Ichigo hadn't felt him, but he still wasn't very good at feeling the reiatsu of others, not even that of his lovers, so anything was possible. He wasn't quite sure either if he should wish for it or not. A part of him wanted for Renji to be here as well and to distract him, no matter if it was through insults or through fights, or through something entirely different, or maybe a mix of everything. But another part of him didn't want to see him, not now when he was such a mess. To let Rukia see him this way was more than enough.

"No. My brother is keeping him busy. But I'm almost sure that it won't take him long to come here now."

Ichigo nodded sullenly. That was not the reunion he had imagined, especially not with his fate being so very uncertain at the moment.

No, dying really hadn't been a part of his agenda.

"Ichigo." He looked up. Rukia stood in front of him. He was too surprised to react when she kissed him, and then too dazed from the kiss to react to the swift kick to his head, much less to defend himself.

Maybe he really was a bit out of it after all, but who could blame him?

"Don't look so gloomy."

"I'm dead, Rukia."

"I noticed. But it will work out," she said and then gave him one of her special smiles that made Ichigo almost believe her before she took off.

Ah well, he thought, dying in bed had never been high up on his list anyway. At least he could die doing what he did best – protecting others (while his body died doing nothing, but that was beside the point). It was what a shinigami did after all, so it could be a whole lot worse.

**IV.**

He was with Ishida, Chad and Orihime when the Hell Butterfly arrived, notifying him that he was to show up at Urahara's store immediately to be transferred to Soul Society. It was the first time that Ichigo got his own butterfly and he really wasn't sure if it should make him feel any better.

Orihime looked at it in wonder, her eyes still bright with the tears that had stopped some time ago already. "So you will go to Soul Society," she said, voice amazingly calm.

Some time during the last few hours she had gotten used to the idea that Ichigo would go away. Or maybe it was the combined effort of Ishida, Chad and Ichigo telling her that not much would change. He was a shinigami after all, like he had been the whole time already. He would just have a change of location. Nothing more.

"Of course he will. He is one of _them_, after all," Ishida said, scowling.

Ichigo grinned. Some things would never change and Ishida's dislike for shinigami was one of them. It was comforting.

"He will come back and visit us," stated Chad in his typical calm-practical manner. As expected, he and Ishida had taken the whole situation rather well.

"Of course I will." At least that was what he hoped. After all, it couldn't change that much, could it? He just... moved. Kinda. They were still his friends and _nothing_ would change that.

"What about a Gigai? And Karen and Yuzu?" Orihime asked, jumping from one thought to the next.

"They are oversea," Ichigo said. "I will talk to them later. And I don't know about the rest." In fact, there were a lot of things he didn't know and the thought of a gigai hadn't even crossed his mind so far. He scratched his head and tried to sort his thoughts. It was impossible, of course.

"What do you think they'll say?"

Ichigo shrugged and tried to ignore the strange feeling in his stomach. "They've known for a long time already what I am. Karen even longer than Yuzu. And it's not as if I'm really dead. It's just my body. I will still be around. A bit like dad. We are a strange family. They know that."

"And your father?"

Ichigo sighed. He was still very sure that his old man wouldn't be overly pleased. "I will probably know that much sooner than I would like."

"He shouldn't talk," Ishida said. "It is also thanks to him that you are a shinigami."

"You don't know my dad," Ichigo said with a sigh.

"He will get over it," Ishida said and there was the hint of a smile on his face.

"Eventually, yes." Ichigo hoped that it would rather be sooner than later.

"Kurosaki-san," Inoue said and when Ichigo looked at her, she smiled at him. "At least you won't be alone there. Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san will be there as well."

"Damn right we will!"

Ichigo almost jumped in shock as Renji appeared in the open window behind him. "Renji," he just said. It was all he could say before he was grabbed and thrown against the nearest wall, with enough force that the glasses on the table were in danger of falling over. Then, before he could regain his breath, Renji's lips were on his. Unlike Rukia's kiss, this one was far away from being gentle and Ichigo gave himself over to the familiarity of it, the sheer rawness of the intimacy. His fingers grabbed Renji's front, holding him close as the other shinigami devoured him.

"You damn idiot," Renji said, once he had released him (far too soon for Ichigo's taste and not at least because this he knew, unlike dying or the rest). "First you get yourself killed and then you don't even show up when you are summoned."

"Idiot, yourself," Ichigo huffed, still recovering from the kiss. "You were so slow that I decided to spend my time more productively. I was just going."

Renji nodded. "Did you kill that son of a bitch at least?"

"The Hollow? What do you think? Of course I did," he said and then they were both grinning and Ichigo was pretty sure that everything would be all right.

"Then let's go, so that I can kick your ass later for being so careless and getting yourself killed."

"Ha! That's what you wish! When was the last time that you managed that? As far as I can recall, you ended up on the ground the last time we fought, admitting your defeat."

"That was just to help you with your self-esteem," Renji retorted with a wide grin. Then, with a wave to the others, he hurried out of the window before Ichigo could hit him.

**V.**

When Soul Society wasn't involved in battles, it was the most peaceful place there could be. Not all of it, but Seireitei certainly was. Ichigo already had decided that long ago (during one of his frequent, if never quite planned visits), but the beauty and the calm of it still struck him at times.

Like now, with the three of them sitting in front of Byakuya's house, relaxing. Renji and he back against back, and Rukia leaning against both of them, her hands intertwined with theirs. It was the most peaceful moment Ichigo had ever experienced. Or at least the most peaceful moment in a very long time, certainly the first since he had arrived here.

First there was all the paperwork his sudden, unexpected death had brought up -- well, not really his death, but that was just semantics as the Commander had pointed out, and no, he wasn't very pleased with the situation, though Ichigo suspected that it had more to do with the fact that he now didn't have anymore a shinigami at his beck and call in Karakura Town.

Then Isshin had given Ichigo his first lesson as a full shinigami when he had spent two days (and nights!) chasing after his son through the streets and over the roofs of Seireitei until he had finally caught up with him near the Shrine of Penitence and they had fought. Unfortunately (if not entirely unexpectedly) Ichigo had lost, because his father didn't bother anymore with holding back, certainly not after his son had so effectively managed to get himself killed. Once his old man had got his disapproval out of his system, things had settled down a bit and he got used to his son being there as well.

After that they had been busy trying to decide what to do with Ichigo until he, just this morning, had been informed that the Academy it would be for him. Byakuya had taken great pleasure in telling him that. So much that he had even smirked, which had been a rather unsettling experience. Ichigo supposed that it was payback for their first meeting upon Ichigo's arrival, when the Captain had greeted him with his typical "Kurosaki Ichigo", which was usually followed by a "return to your world, you don't belong here" in the past. He probably hadn't taken it too well that Ichigo had explained him that he couldn't tell him that anymore (and god, he had wanted to say something like that since that first time already, no matter how childish it might have been!). Or maybe it had been Ichigo's grin when he had said that.

"Maybe you can prove in the Academy that you are more than big words and fighting spirit," Byakuya had added, in that special tone that had always annoyed Ichigo in the past. But he would show Byakuya what he was made of!

"You know what?" Ichigo asked, then, when he only got a grunt from Renji in return, continued, "I never thought that I would have to return to school. Not after all the years that I have worked as a shinigami already."

"Of course. You have been fighting the whole time, but you don't know a thing about Demon Magic. And there are a lot of other things you still need to learn," Rukia said.

"Did you really think you could just jump in while all of us had to go through school? You are not that great. Seeing how you ended up here should be more than enough proof of that," Renji added, gruffly, but Ichigo could hear the grin in his voice.

Without turning even his head, Ichigo hit backwards. The undignified "Ow" showed him that he hadn't missed his target. He grinned in lazy satisfaction and leaned his head against Renji's shoulder; let the sun shine against his face.

"You know, Ichigo, I have heard rumors that some Captains showed already interest to have you in their squad. Most of all Kenpachi." Ichigo groaned. Since he had arrived here, he had tried his best to stay out of the 11th Division's Captain's way. He really didn't feel like having another fight with him any time soon. "He even tried to argue that he was not interested in demon magic and that you had already all the fighting experience you would need to join right away. Most of the other Captains spoke against it, but maybe the two of you could convince them..." Rukia said, and Ichigo could hear the barely suppressed laugh in her voice.

"I think I will pass. He would most likely get me killed during some training session," Ichigo said. "Demon magic sounds less risky."

Renji's laugh vibrated pleasantly against Ichigo's back and Ichigo found himself smiling. He closed his eyes and pressed Rukia's hand. He was still not entirely sure what to make out of being dead, but he could say that he was happy, despite being, well, dead. In fact, Ichigo couldn't remember anymore when he had last felt not only happy but also at peace. And not only him. Even the Hollow in Ichigo seemed to have accepted the situation after its first outburst and was calm now. Or maybe it was just because Ichigo was still the king (something he had no desire to change any time soon either) and it couldn't change the situation anyway.

"When do you start?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo opened his eyes again, blinking against the setting sun. "Tomorrow morning. Why?"

"Because," Renji jumped in, "that gives _us_ some more time to train you."

"Patience, most of all. And taking care of yourself. And if you can't do it yourself, you should let us do it," Rukia chimed in and suddenly Ichigo found himself with both of them on the sun-warmed ground, straddled by Rukia and half leaning against Renji, who was already pushing the black cloth off his shoulders. His surprised yell when Renji bit into his neck was muted by Rukia's shoulder as Ichigo pulled her nearer, wanting to feel both of them as close as possible.

"And what about your brother?" he asked, voice not quite that steady anymore.

"You are still a fool who worries far too much about nothing," Renji said, voice slightly exasperated. And when Ichigo felt the hands on his body, caressing him in such a way that made it hard to think, he almost tended to agree with him, but they were still talking about Byakuya, and he would probably kill Ichigo if he would walk in on them now. And not even Rukia's lips on his, nor the warm wind against his bare skin, nor Renji's rough "if you can still worry, we are doing something wrong" followed by his hands wandering even further down, in just the way Ichigo _loved_, could quite dispel his very valid worry.

Rukia took pity on him and said, "Captain meeting. They're trying to figure out who would want to get rid of your body. It will take some time. And then Ukitake invited him for tea," Rukia answered, voice breathless, as she arched into Ichigo's hand, which was on her already bare skin. Ichigo let it wander down from her shoulder to her breast, which felt warm and soft and just absolutely perfect. Just like Renji's hardness that ground against him, or the feel of the red hair against his fingers as Ichigo fumbled with the band to release it.

Ever since he saw it first loose, during their fight, he couldn't get enough of it. Ichigo loved how it framed Renji's face and blended with his tattoos, gave him something of a wild animal. He was the perfect counterpart to Rukia's softness that hid her strength so well.

And it was all his, just as he was theirs.

And if that was what it meant to be dead, he maybe should have thanked the Hollow before killing it, Ichigo thought, not caring all that much about who had thought it necessary to send him to this special version of a paradise, where he wasn't torn anymore between two lives that weren't really compatible at the best of times, and where he could be with the two people who were probably the reason that he was still himself and _sane_.

It was the last coherent thought he could form before their lips met, devouring and claiming, Renji's rough and wild, Rukia's a tad more gentle, but just as passionate, and just as perfect as the rest of their being together.

**-.-.-.-.-**


End file.
